Cylindrical package



CYLINDRICAL PACKAGE Filed Aug. 17, 1961 Inventor ALEX JAMES GARVIN United rates This invention relates to a cylindrical package adapted for the packaging of loose or pliable material and other forms of merchandise, such as soaps and individual plastic articles, and is an improvement on the type of cylindrical package as shown in United States Patent No. 3,080,048 dated March 5, 1963, and assigned to the same assignee as this application.

The problem of providing packages suitable for the automatic vending of merchandise as described presents certain requirements of the package design which must be met in order to provide an acceptable package form. One of these problems is the necessity of providing a relatively low cost package, whereby the choice of materials used in the construction requires careful consideration.

A further consideration is the capacity for environmental resistance of the package in order that the goods stored therein may have an acceptable shelf life. Further to this consideration, damage and subsequent spoilage of the contents is also a factor affecting the construction.

Another important consideration is the ease vvith which merchandise can be placed and sealed within the package. It is also necessary that this requirement be considered in the light of the necessity for subsequent'reopening of the package by the purchaser.

It is, therefore, a main object of this invention to pro vide a cylindrical package which is adapted to be manufactured from substantially low cost materials while still providing protection for contents packaged therein.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a cylindrical package having an external covering providing an acceptable degree of protection for the contents during handling.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a cylindrical package, whereby simple closure means are employed to further reduce the cost of filling and sealing.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a cylin-v drical package which may be easily opened in order to provide access to the contents.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a cylindrical package having a substantially smooth, snag free exterior, thereby being adapted for automatic vend- Other objects and features of this invention will be apparent from the study of the following discussion and accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one preferred form of cylindrical package embodying this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view of a partially formed cylinder showing the method of manufacture thereof;

FIGURE 3 is a view of the cylinder as shown in FIG- URE 2 illustrating the method of applying the exterior covering;

FIGURE 4 is a section through the package taken one the line 4-4 in FIGURE 1.

With reference to FIGURE 1 a preferred form of the present invention is illustrated and indicated generally as 11, comprising cylindrical body 12, having open ends indicated as 113 and 14, enclosed by caps and 16 respectively.

' tection for contents stored therein.

3,d89,fi3ll Patented May 14, 1963 ine With reference to FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 2 and particular reference to FIGURE 2 cylindrical body 12 is illustrated being in this case formed from a pair of strips, outer strip 17 and inner strip 18, being helically wound in a double overlapping manner, whereby adjacent edges of the strips are butted as at iii for outer strip 17 and 20 for inner strip 18 in order to provide smooth surfaces on the interior and exterior of body 12. The individual strips 17 and 18 may be secured by conventional means such as gluing in order to provide a substantially rigid body 12. Since the rigidity of body 12 is dependent upon the thickness of material used in strips 17 and 18 it will be obvious that this thickness will depend upon the expected use, that is the materials to be stored therein, of the package.

The method of providing body' 12 with a protective fil is illustrated in FIGURE 3 wherein a film 21 is shown wound in a helical manner about body 12. Edges 22 of film 21 are preferably overlapped in order to provide an efiective seal. Referring to FIGURE 3 and FIGURE 4 film 21 comprises a comparatively thin paper 23 coated with a thin layer 24 of polyvinyl chloride on the exterior surface thereof. When wrapping film 21 about body 12 the overlapped edges 22 are heat sealed, \Whereby a substantially dust proof and moisture proof covering is applied thereon. In one preferred type of film 21 paper 23 is a comparatively thin kraft paper being coated upon one side only with a sheet or layer of polyvinyl chloride in order to provide a coverage of from five to eight pounds of plastic per ream of paper.

It will be understood that the purpose of the plastic coating, in this case polyvinyl chloride, is to provide a dirt and moisture barrier to the cylindrical body, whereas the strips 17 and 18 of a fibrous material provide the necessary rigidity and form to the package. It will also be understood that the package may be formed in a substantially continuous operation by the successive helical coiling of strips 17, 18 and film 21 about each other, whereafter ends 13 and 14 may be trimmed substantially square or otherwise as desired. Furthermore, the body is adaptable for mass production techniques since the plastic, that is polyvinyl chloride, used as a sealing means may be readily applied and sealed to body 12 by conductive or radiant heating means.

Referring to FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 4 cap 15 is shown in sealable contact at 25 on the rim of body 12. Cap 15 is preferably made from a substantially thin sheet of comparatively pure polyvinyl chloride. One pre ferred method is to form a circular disc of plastic sheet and reshape the disc about the rim of body 12, whereby heat applied to portion 26 of cap 15 seals it in intimate contact with layer 24. Close contact of cap 15, at rim 26 ensures a wrinkle free and thus a snag free seal at 25, completely about the periphery of the cap.

In addition to the above sealing operation it is contemplated by the present invention to provide tension of cap 15 during the sealing process, whereby a stressed end results in order to retain contents therein and to prevent protrusion thereof. The tension in ends 15 and 16 moreover, aids in providing rigidity to body 12 and particularly to open ends 13 and 14 respectively. I

It has been found that there is an optimum thickness for caps 15 and 16 due to requirements of the sealing operation. If the capsare too thick transfer of heat through the plastic will be relatively slow and thus a poor Weld or seal at rim 26 will result. Again, it is obvious that too thin a plastic will not provide the necessary pro- Further considerations of thickness are the ease with which the plastic will deform over the rims of body 12 and also theease with which the ends may be cut or broken for removing conapeaeao tents therefrom. It has been found that for packages of a size which the present invention contemplates, that the thickness of polyvinyl chloride for ends and 16 should be between one one thousands and ten one thousands of an inch and it is preferably between two one thousands and five one thousands of an inch. It is evident that for substantially large size packages or comparatively heavy or sharp edged merchandise that the higher range of plastic thickness would be desirable.

In use the cylindrical body portion 12 would be first formed and provided with one end cap, say 15. The desired merchandise may then be placed within the tube, whereafter a second end cap is sealably placed thereon thus enclosing the merchandise in a moisture proof and dust free package. Upon it being required to remove the contents therefrom, it would be merely necessary to break or cut one of the end caps out, thus releasing the contents. It will be further seen that the use of substantially pure polyvinyl chloride for the end caps provides visible identification of the merchandise within the tube besides providing means for visual inspection of their condition.

It is evident that the cylindrical package as described would be suitable for vending from automatic machines, the cylindrical form providing a substantially jam free configuration, and the smooth exterior surface being particularly free from any tendency to snag on rough or sharp surfaces as well as providing environmental resistance, the features in each case being especially suited to automatic vending.

With regard to the foregoing it will be appreciated that this invention in its broader aspects embodies a cylindrical package adapted to be dispensed from a conventional dispensing mechanism and comprises a hollow cylindrical body having a thin plastic film thereon. Preferably the ends of the body are tensionably sealed with a similar plastic material in order to provide a completely protected enclosure for merchandise stored therein.

While one preferred form of this invention has been disclosed it will be appreciated that various changes, according to the requirements of manufacture and design, may be resorted to while still remaining within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A self-feeding merchandising package adapted to be dispensed by conventional dispensing mechanisms and comprising: a hollow cylinder formed by securing together in an overlapping manner helically wound strips of a substantially stiff material; a film of thermoplastic material sealably secured to the exterior of said cylinder; merchandise within said cylinder; and plastic end closures of thin flexible thermoplastic sheet material on each said open end bonded to said plastic film on said cylinder in a marginal area around each said open end, said closures in the area of said bonding being shaped to fit around and conform to the contour of said cylinder, and being manually tearable to permit access to said merchandise.

2. A self-feeding merchandising package adapted to be dispensed by conventional dispensing mechanisms and comprising: a hollow cylinder formed by securing together in an overlapping manner helically wound strips of a substantially stifi material; a strip of thermoplastic material helically wound with overlapping edges sealably secured to the exterior of said cylinder; merchandise within said cylinder; and plastic end closures of thin flexible thermoplastic sheet material on each said open end bonded to said plastic film on said cylinder in a marginal area around each said open end, said closures in the area of said bonding being shaped to fit around and conform to the contour of said cylinder, and being manually tearable to permit access to said merchandise.

3. A self-feeding merchandising package adapted to be dispensed by conventional dispensing mechanisms and comprising: a cylinder formed by helically coiling strips of substantially stiff fibrous material, whereby subsequent layers are overlapped and secured one upon the other to define a cylindrical cavity; a sheet of material consisting at least in part of thermoplastic material helically coiled about said cylinder, whereby the edges are overlapped, and heatably sealed thereon; merchandise within said cylinder; and caps of manually tearable thermoplastic material having central portions tensioned over both open ends of said cylinder and having peripheral portions heat sealed to said plastic film around said ends.

4. A self-feeding merchandising package adapted to be dispensed by conventional dispensing mechanisms and comprising: a cylinder formed by helically coiling strips of substantially still fibrous material, whereby subsequent layers are overlapped and secured one upon the other to define a cylindrical cavity; a film of thermoplastic material in strip form helically coiled about said cylinder, whereby the edges are overlapped, and heatably sealed thereon; merchandise within said cylinder; and caps of manually tearable thermoplastic material having central portions tensioned over both open ends of said cylinder, and having peripheral portions bonded to said plastic film around said ends.

5. A self-feeding merchandising package adapted to be dispensed by conventional dispensing mechanisms and comprising: a cylinder formed by helically coiling a plurality of strips of substantially stiff fibrous material in plural layers, whereby a butt join of subsequent coils of each strip are disposed substantially intermediate of the width of the successive layer, each layer being secured one upon the other, to define a cylindrical cavity; a film of thermoplastic material provided with a paper carrier helically coiled about said cylinder, whereby the edges are overlapped, and heatably secured thereto; merchandise within said cylinder; and caps of manually tearable thermoplastic material having central portions tensioned over both open ends of said cylinder and having peripheral portions overlapping marginal areas of said cylinder around said open ends and bonded to said film thcrearound.

6. A self-feeding merchandising package adapted to be dispensed by conventional dispensing mechanisms and comprising: a cylinder formed by helically coiling a plurality of strips of substantially stiff fibrous material in plural layers, whereby a butt join of subsequent coils of each strip are disposed substantially intermediate of the width of the successive layer, each layer being secured one upon the other, to define a cylindrical cavity; a strip consisting of paper covered with a plastic film helically coiled about said cylinder, whereby the edges are overlapped, and heatably secured thereto; merchandise within said cylinder; and caps of manually tearable thermoplastic material having central portions stretched and tensioned over both open ends of said cylinder, and having peripheral portions smoothly deformed over marginal areas of said cylinder around said ends and continuously heat sealed to said plastic film thcrearound.

7. A self-feeding merchandising package adapted to be dispensed by conventional dispensing mechanisms and comprising: a cylinder formed by helically coiling a plurality of strips of substantially stiff fibrous material in plural layers, whereby a butt join of subsequent coils of each strip are disposed substantially intermediate of the successive layer, each layer being secured one upon the other, to define a cylindrical cavity; a film of thermoplastic material provided with a paper carrier helically coiled about said cylinder, whereby the edges are overlapped, and heatably secured thereto; merchandise in said cylinder; and caps of thermoplastic material of a thickness of between two one thousands and five one thousands of an inch having central portions tensioned over both open ends of said cylinder and having peripheral portions overlapping marginal areas of said cylinder around said open ends and bonded to said plastic film therearound.

8. A self-feeding merchandising package adapted to be dispensed by conventional dispensing mechanisms and comprising: a cylinder formed by helically coiling a formed over marginal areas of said cylinder around said plurality of strips or" substantially stifi fibrous material in ends and continuously heat sealed to said plastic film plural layers, whereby a butt join of subsequent coils of therearound.

each strip are disposed substantially intermediate of the successive layer, each layer being secured one upon the 5 Referenfles Cited in the file Of this Patent other, to define a cylindrical cavity; a film of polyvinyl UNITED STATES PATENTS chloride applied to a paper carrier and helically coiled about said cylinder, whereby the edges are overlapped, 1,301,840 Hawklns P g and heatably secured thereto; merchandise in said cylin- 1,905,356 P 5, 93: der; and caps of manually tearable polyvinyl chloride 10 2,268,245 Davls' Dec. 30, 1941 film having central portions tensioned over both open 2,554,662 Cowgill May 29, 1951 ends of said cylinder, and having peripheral portions de- 3,018,212 Chinn Jan. 23, 1962 

1. A SELF-FEEDING MERCHANDISING PACKAGE ADAPTED TO BE DISPENSED BY CONVENTIONAL DISPENSING MECHANISMS AND COMPRISING: A HOLLOW CYLINDER FORMED BY SECURING TOGETHER THAN OVERLAPPING MANNER HELICALLY WOUND STRIPS OF A SUBSTANTIALLY STIFF MATERIAL; A FILM OF THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL SEALABLY SECURED TO THE EXTERIOR OF SAID CYLINDER; MERCHANDISE WITHIN SAID CYLINDER; AND PLASTIC END CLOSURES OF THIN FLEXIBLE THERMOPLASTIC SHEET MATERIAL ON EACH SAID OPEN END BONDED TO SAID PLASTIC FILM ON SAID CYLINDER IN A MARGINAL AREA AROUND EACH SAID OPEN END, SAID CLOSURES IN THE AREA OF SAID BONDING BEING SHAPED TO FIT AROUND AND CONFORM TO THE CONTOUR OF SAID CYLINDER, AND BEING MANUALLY TEARABLE TO PERMIT ACCESS TO SAID MERCHANDISE. 